Within Reach
by usebubblebeam
Summary: It's Misty's dream to become a Water Pokemon Master! After being considered for an Elite Four position by Lorelei and Lance, Misty is in the battle for her life as she tries to achieve her ultimate ambition. / Misty-centric. OT3. Pokeshipping.
1. Part 1

**Within Reach**

 _ **Part One**_

 **by usebubblebeam**

 **Date Begun: 30/08/17  
Date Finished: 02/09/17**

 **A/N: So I haven't posted anything online in a while so I'd thought I'd stretch my fingers and type out this little thing. Please be kind, as I said, it's been a while.**

 **This is also only part one; the second will be up as soon as possible!**

* * *

How did her day go from seemingly perfectly normal to… mind-numbing?

Misty couldn't help but stare at Lance from across the table, her mouth agape like a magikarp. Brock was seated beside her, just as silent as a steaming cup of coffee warmed his hands. He nudged her lightly with his elbow so that the woman sitting beside him would speak up. At the indication, the redhead cleared her throat.

"Sorry, uh… Could you repeat that?"

The champion grinned. It was like he was expecting this sort of reaction out of her. Was this a prank?

"No, it's not a prank."

Mew, had she said that out loud?

"With Koga and Agatha retired, Bruno and Lorelei have begun looking for successors. And naturally, Lorelei has been considering you." he explained.

Truthfully, from the moment Brock had answered her door for her and called out her name insistently had been the answer to when everything had become "mind-numbing".

"Misty," Lance began again. She simply couldn't speak, still completely shocked. It was almost like she had forgotten that she had a voice and was supposed to use it to respond. Usually, she was well-aware of this fact but…

She could only muster a surprised grunt in reply.

"This seems like a lot to take in for you… Maybe I should come back another time?"

"No!" she suddenly piped up, shaking herself. Brock lifted his cup to his lips, attempting to hide his amused smirk. How the hell wasn't he as shocked as she was? Or speaking on behalf of her? Some best friend he was. "No, it's fine. Great, even. I'm just… overwhelmed. I mean, I didn't see this coming."

The man across nodded. "Indeed, but with all the progress you've been making for the Cerulean Gym, why wouldn't it be in your future? You and your friends showed immense strength in more ways than one and even back when I first met you, I saw the potential."

Brock looked over at his former travelling companion. He could understand the hesitance, but hadn't this always been her dream? "Mist?" he asked. "Why aren't you more excited? This is an amazing opportunity, _and_ you've been saying for years that you want to be a Water Pokemon Master. This is amazing!"

"I am! It's just a lot to process. I mean, me? Really?"

She looked a little skeptical, but there was still hope in her eyes. Her childhood dream possibly coming true? How often did something like that happen?

"Lorelei's insisting that you go for it. Obviously, you can't just be _offered_ the position, but we all want you to be a candidate." Lance said, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin on top of his folded hands. "That means battling for it and proving to us that you're as strong as your reputation says you are."

Expecting his words to push the position away, it was like the doubt was melting away. She slowly began to grin and Misty's famous confidence was once again before the bi-regional champion and the pokemon doctor.

"I'll take that as a challenge. And a Gym Leader has to expect every challenge, right?"

"There she is!" Brock cheered, standing up and moving to hug her. "Congratulations, Misty!"

"Don't congratulate me yet, Brock! I have to beat the Elite Four, first!"

Lance closed his eyes in thought as the two friends had their moment before standing up from his chair. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, Misty. I look forward to your battle! I must take my leave now, but it was nice to see you both."

"I'll see you out." Brock said with a respectful nod, moving to lead the older man out of the Gym Leader's apartment.

As the two left, Misty was once again taking the time to process what had just happened. Her whole life could change forever because of the very conversation that had just happened. But was she ready? Were her pokemon ready? Was she skilled enough? Was she strong enough?

She couldn't help but allow these questions to run through her head. It wasn't every day you were considered for such a prestigious position by _Lorelei_ and the _champion_ themselves. No doubt, it was a lot to take in. After everything that she had fought for, the reputation that she had to re-work and pretty much build from the ground up for her family's gym, the respect of her fellow trainers… It was almost like all of it was going to be on the line if she took it.

But she was a Gym Leader. It was her duty to take on a challenger to not only help them benefit from the battle, to teach them and help them gain strength, but it was also something that they did to help better themselves.

The redhead could hear the quite murmurs of farewell from Brock and Lance prior to the door clicking closed.

"This is amazing!" the doctor said as he entered the dining area once more. Misty's apartment was rather spacious so it took him a couple of seconds to make his way back.

"It's huge."

"It's huge." he echoed. He paused. "You're going to go for it, aren't you?"

"It's been my dream since I was a kid… To be acknowledged for my own strength; to show my sisters that I'm just as good as them. To be a Water Pokemon Master. It's just so _weird_ thinking that it could be within reach, y'know?" Misty began, blinking as a smile graced her lips. She was looking down at the ingrains on the table as she concentrated on how to form what she was feeling coherently. "After everything, it seemed impossible. I used to spout that as a kid because I was a dreamer, and I knew I wanted to be better than my sisters. I feel like I'm floating. I can't really explain it."

Brock stayed quiet as his friend spoke. He could understand where she was coming from. The both of them had so much in common that it was rather sad when they had deep conversations like this. Even Ash, who was constantly on the go and pursuing his dream, would be able to relate.

But Misty had been the only one forced to put her dream on hold while her two best friends continued to chase their goals.

"You're not getting left behind anymore."

The words seemed to just slip out, and it seemed to be the right thing to say. The redhead jerked back slightly and soon her oceanic eyes were back on her friend.

It was true, what he said.

She wasn't going to be alone here while everyone around her pursued their dreams.

She couldn't help but grow a little emotional, her smile wider as her eyes glassed over slightly. "I can do it?" she asked. How often was it that Misty seeked reassurance? She had always been the most boisterous of the three, the most outwardly confident.

Brock immediately lifted his hand, giving the biggest grin he could muster and gave her the thumbs-up signal. "Of course!"

She couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You look like Ash when you do that." she teased. Of course she was grateful for the encouragement, but she needed things to settle back into routine before she got too over-the-top.

"What? Doesn't it suit me?"

* * *

The next few weeks were incredibly intense.

Brock hardly ever saw his best friend. Whenever he had the chance to take some time off again from studying in Johto to come back home, she was either training or not even home. Even Tracey, who dropped by the gym a lot more than any of their friends, saw her barely. She was battling the trainers who came through, completely wiping the floor with some of them with only a few close calls. That Cascade Badge was growing increasingly harder to gain the stronger Misty became.

She even opted to bring meditating into her training regimen, something that had been of the advice of both Sabrina and Bruno, so that she could probably set her mind on her pokemon and the upcoming battle only.

The doctor sat on the bleachers as his friend battled against a trainer who had faired from Sinnoh, Staryu easily gaining momentum and propelling itself from the water, into the air towards a staravia. While the bird was naturally quick, it was clearly exhausted, only moving out of the way slightly. This allowed Misty's staryu to aim one of its spike at the flying type's underbelly.

Staravia was pushed back, wincing in pain. Its trainer gasped out its name, but Misty barely let the two of them react.

"Staryu, Water Gun!" she called out. Her teammate immediately responded to the command from its trainer, sinking into the pool and gathering water before shooting it out like a sharp jetstream, Hitting almost exactly the same place where it had tackled staravia just previously. "Yes! That's it, Staryu!" The pre-evolution had always been the one with better aim, though her starter was stronger in terms of special attack. Staryu was clumsy, but definitely a reliable pokemon in its own right.

Its opponent fell back towards the water, the young trainer across the pool immediately pulling out his pokeball. "Staravia, return!"

A red beam left the capsule after he yelled desperately and covered the bird in order to bring it inside it. The referee lifted up a green flag with a water droplet design on it in Misty's favour.

"Staravia is unable to battle! Staryu is the winner! Gym Leader Misty is the victor!"

Misty remained on the platform she was standing on as the referee announced the results of the battle, waiting until staravia was back inside its pokeball to address her challenger. "You staravia is strong! It fought well. But it looks like you need a little more training to earn the Cascade Badge."

The boy sighed and bowed his head.

"Hey, there's nothing to be upset about! You clearly have skill to get as far as you did. You knocked out two of my pokemon!"

Brock then took the time to stand up from the bleachers and heading over towards where Misty and the challenger were chatting. It had honestly been quite an impressive battle, and not just from Misty's side. The trainer definitely had some potential. He was tactful, and had thought he had planned ahead with the battle, but not well enough, it seemed. "Yeah, you did really well against Misty. You forget that Cerulean City has one of the best gyms in the region."

The trainer nodded slowly in reply. "I guess. I just didn't expect you to be this strong. After competing in the Sinnoh League, I wanted to take on a new league. Never thought it would be this tough."

"Well, we're a tough bunch of trainers."

"I can see that." the challenger laughed lightly despite clearly being disappointed. Soon enough, he was heading towards where he had placed his bag. After swinging it onto his back, he raised a hand in farewell. "Thanks for today. I'll be back soon enough for the badge!"

After he left, Misty and Brock had gone downstairs to where the feeding area of the gym was, both of them standing on step ladders so that they could reach the top of the tanks. Each was holding a tub of pokemon food that all of the gym's pokemon had taken to, throwing the pieces to the ones that couldn't stay on land while the ones who could were each munching at a bowl of it each.

Misty seemed content with today's match, which prompted Brock's question.

"So, do you feel ready to schedule a day for the battle?" he asked cheerfully, laughing as Dewgong swam past quickly, clearly wanting more. "Okay, okay! You're not missing out! Here you go."

The redhead hummed in response as she stopped to watch her pokemon eat. "I don't know. I feel like we're close but I'm not fully confident yet, y'know? I mean, this is gonna be the biggest battle of my life so I _have_ to be ready. And I don't think I am."

"Well, how much longer do you think it'll take? You can't put it off for too long. Otherwise someone else will be getting that promotion."

The two of them turned to glance at each other at the male's words. She couldn't help but bite her lip; he was right. From what she had heard, Ritchie was already on his way to battle Bruno for his spot on the Elite Four roster.

"I feel like I should go to the Seafoam Islands to train more, though..."

"Mist," the doctor said, her nickname being used in that "older brother" tone, as his friends called. Also, the employment of the nickname was enough to know that he was a little concerned. It wasn't often used, and the use of it was limited to two people only; Brock and Ash. "You've been training every day for weeks. Even before you knew about the League considering you for it, you've been working your butt off to prove you're one of the best trainers in Kanto. How long have you been running the gym now? A little less than eight years, counting the breaks? You're 21; go for it!"

"I appreciate the pep talk, but-"

"No buts! Go make the call, or I will."

The Gym Leader blinked. Had he just snapped at her? She knew she could get frustrating but Brock wasn't normally one to cut someone off. He was really serious about this.

Silence drifted over the two of them for a few seconds before she could find her voice again.

"Okay... There's no need to give me attitude."

* * *

That phone call had been excuriating to make, but she found that Ash finding out had been worse.

"Of course we're friends!" she said hurriedly. "C'mon, Ash, don't give me that look.

That phone call had been excurutiating to make, but Ash finding out, Ash _being there_ , was definitely much worse.

About to step up to the reception desk where Nurse Joy was standing to check for a hotel, something she had book ahead in preparation for the big day, the redhead was greeted by the aspiring pokemon master and Pikachu. She stopped cold at the sight of him, her eyes wide in both disbelief and shock. "Ash!"

"Misty!" he called back.

He was wearing an expression that she could only describe as a combination of irritation and pride, while Pikachu took them calling each other's names as a cue to bound up to Misty and Brock. The two of them were standing next to each other, the man grinning widely at the sight of Ash there.

"Pikachupi! Pika-chu!" the electric rodent called out excitedly, leaping into Misty's arms. He immediately began to nuzzle her face against his own, somewhat surprisingly Misty out of her daze. What the hell were the two of them doing there? She hadn't told them anything.

Pikachu soon stopped, looking up at the woman. She immediately snapped her head at Brock, who tentatively took a couple of steps back.

"Traitor!" she accused, pointing a finger at him.

She hadn't been planning on telling Ash about the news because of the fact that it wasn't for sure. While he was in complete support of her endeavours, he was still busy with his own and she didn't want this to be a distraction or an excuse to see him. The last she had heard from him was that he was attending some sort of school while in Alola that was required for trainers, if if they were experienced, and to drag him away from that while he was both travelling around the region and studying?

"Don't blame Brock!" he said. While there was a hint of a smile lining his lips, it was overshadowed by the annoyance. "I thought we were friends, Misty!"

"Of course we're friends!" she hurriedly said to defend herself, her hand raising to scratch Pikachu behind the ear. "Oh, c'mon, Ash, don't give me that look."

He huffed in response, folding his arms.

"Alright, you two, it's not the time to argue. You can hold off until we check in." Brock said hurriedly in an attempt to intervene before the two caused a scene. The yelling of each other's names had already drawn attention because the sounds had echoed across the room. Grabbing Misty's arm, he dragged her towards Ash before doing the same to him and leading the two back en route to the reception desk. He was on a mission to see Nurse Joy before the he needed to go hide in humiliation because of the people he chose to associate himself with and the way they behaved in public.

They both grumbled as they stood to line up, Misty trying to ignore Ash as he poked her in the back continuously.

"At least let me congratulate you." Ash said, finally stopping.

He hadn't seen either of his friends in a few months, mostly relying on e-mails (when he did reply) and the occasional phone call. He was lucky that he had caught the one where Brock had called him a couple of weeks ago to inform him of the massive news. The fact that she hadn't told him herself was quite upsetting. But he was also immensely proud of her; she was about to become a member of the _Elite Four_ , officially to be recognised as a Water Pokemon Master!

She pursed her lips, Pikachu leaping from her shoulder to the man standing in front of the two so that they could have their privacy. Or what they could in such a public setting.

Misty turned, finally facing Ash properly. She was wearing a smile now, as though none of this was a big deal. "It's good to see you, Ash."

"You too, Misty."

Without warning, he grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a hug, Misty flushing immediately at the gesture. "I'm so proud of you!" he started, rocking her slow back and forth. He seemed to be more excited about this than she did, but he didn't care. He knew that deep down she was really happy, but it was covered by layers of doubt and insecurity. "You're gonna be a Water Pokemon Master!"

"That's still to see, Ash." Misty laughed, her hands following suit and gently placing them around him in reply.

"You've been saying that you've wanted this since I met you, so of course it's gonna happen!" He pulled away, holding her at arms length to properly look at her. He pretty much towered over her now. "Speaking of things happening, I'm taller than you now." He was smirking, his tone smug.

"The fact that you just noticed is a little unsettling, Mr. Pokemon Master." His smirk dropped at this. "You've been taller than me since you stopped by after Sinnoh. And we've seen each other a few times since then."

"On the phone doesn't count!"

"It so does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does!"

"Doesn't!"

"Does!"

"Doesn't!"

"Does!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

Now they had caused a scene that Brock had been hoping to avoid. He had turned around, hands on his hips as he glared at his two younger friends. "Mew, you guys, if you're gonna flirt, wait until you're alone." he teased, expecting the result he was given. Both of their faces flushed a fantastic shade of red in embarrassment, leaving a satisfied Brock in their wake as the duo yelled after him when he went to move ahead in line.

"We weren't flirting!"

Pikachu couldn't help but giggle along with what was happening behind him. The two of them had been teased like this since they were kids, so you'd think that they would be unaffected by now but apparently not. The two were completely silent following their outburst, their faces still holding a prominent blush as they attempted to glance at each other as though to suss out the other's reaction. If caught, they would immediately pretend they weren't doing anything suspicious.

Not long after this had played out, the line had moved forward enough so that the group was next in line. After hearing a, "Next!" being called out by Nurse Joy after she had finished serving the previous customers, all composure that Brock had been behaving with seemingly slipped away in an instant.

"Nurse Joy!" he called loudly, his eyes completely focused on the pink-haired woman who had jumped back, startled. The doctor's eyes were now heart-shaped, and he was right in front of her so quick that a neither of his friends had time to react. "It's been a long time since I saw you last! You're as beautiful as I remember!"

Ash faked gagging at the passionate speech his best friend was beginning to admit, and Misty, who was already on the case, had seemingly recovered from early as her temper began to grow upon the embarrassing sight in front of them.

"Your eyes sparkle like the sunlight on the ocean and your hair is like cotton candy-"

"Your face will be the colour of cotton candy if you don't pipe down."

"-Ow, Misty, not the ear! Not the ear!"

She was holding his ear tightly between two fingers as he struggled to get away, but her vice-like grip was not refraining at all. "Now who's the embarrassing one?" she asked, beginning to pull him away from the crowd though not before shoving her ID card into Ash's hand. Pikachu, by this point, had already jumped down from Brock's shoulder, watching the two people head away from the shocked people that had been left in their wake.

Ash sighed, exasperated, stepping up to the still-shocked Nurse Joy. "Sorry about that. He gets a little..." he trailed off awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Anyway, uh, a reservation under 'Misty'?"

At the prompt, Nurse Joy shook her head to regain her concentration. "For Misty, did you say?" she asked, not even waiting for Ash to confirm as she began to click away at her computer. "Do you have your ID with you?"

"Misty's given me her's." he said, holding up the card. "She was the girl who dragged... Never mind."

"Oh, the Gym Leader! Yes!" Nurse Joy grinned, taking the card without question and popping it into a slot on the hard drive. Misty's face soon popped on the screen, along with some other information that Ash didn't bother reading. Pulling out a map, she stood up to show her customer where he should be looking. "This is where your room is. It's in the private quarters upstairs." she explained before taking a seat once more, pulling out Misty's card and handing it back to him. "Let me just get the key cards for you..."

It took a moment for Nurse Joy to give them to him, confirming on the computer once more. "And here you are!"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!"

Bolting off, he was quickly beside his friends once more. Brock was wincing as he tried to rub his ear, trying to soothe it, complaining about how rough Misty had been.

"Again, it's been _years_ , you should've noticed by now that I would do it if you try anything like that." was her quick retort. Looking towards Ash, she held out her hand and he hurriedly handed her her ID card and her key card. He also offered Brock his. "Should we go?"

The two males nodded.

"Yeah, and when we get there, can we order some ice because I think Misty has bruised my ear!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review.**

 **Hope you have a great day!**

 **Word Count: 4,088**


	2. Part 2

**Within Reach**

 _ **Part 2**_

 **by usebubblebeam**

 **A/N: Ah, sorry for this taking so long to be updated! I've been doing little by little each night since I finished the first chapter so... yeah. I'm not entirely happy with the quality of it but I'm rather impressed with myself that I'm sticking to the idea in my head.**

* * *

It was like nothing had changed at first.

The three of them, plus Pikachu of course, being gathered in the same room and going on like no time had past had been both an amazing and a gratifying feeling. The energy had been elated since the reappearance of the mostly missing member of their little trio with things flowing easily with teasing jabs, informing each other of their current lives and reminiscing about the good old days.

It was enough to slightly distract Misty from her nerves.

But that had all gone down the drain the moment her eyes cracked open right on schedule, her inner body clock working overtime, groaning as she stared up at the ceiling above her as she blinked away the blurriness. After a moment, she began to groan softly and move the blankets so that they were covering her face. Was today really the day? Had time really gone by that fast already?

Even before kicking the coverings off her, she knew that she'd be anxious all day. Of course she would; who wouldn't on such an important day? Her _entire_ future could be decided in a matter of only a few hours. These kind of thoughts were creeping on her like some sort of ghost-type trying to pry all the happy ones away from her as she attempted to psych herself up.

Finally sitting up, the redhead looked around the room to see where her friends were. The room that they had been assigned was a lot more lavish than the ones for the trainers who were competing in the Kanto League tournament or the Silver Conference. Instead of the rural looking rooms, this one had four beds dotted along the walls with expensive-looking covers, oak headboards and side tables to match. The room even had a chandelier, for Mew's sake. It definitely suited the lifestyles that her sisters lived by, not Misty.

Brock was sleeping soundly on his bed, perfectly normal. Usually, the oldest of the three was the one to awaken but Misty had been forced to wake up at pretty much the crack of dawn since she had been appointed Gym Leader of her family's gym. Ash, which was unsurprising, had completely sprawled himself across his own mattress. Pikachu was no better; he was almost exactly like his trainer.

Laughing lightly at the sight, she was soon gathering clothes and her toiletries from her bag and making her way towards the bathroom to prepare for the day.

At the sound of the shower beginning to run, Brock was shaken awake. "Misty?" he called out, voice still husky in sleep. Upon realising she wasn't in the room, the doctor sat up and took hold of the one of the pillows that he had been resting his head on only a second ago, and aimed it towards Ash.

He was met by a startled sound, a pained groan from Pikachu, and a fumbling of sheets as Ash and his starter quite literally rolled off the bed. "Oof!" he groaned. "Brock, what the hell...?" He was incredibly tired, but being forced off his bed and onto the floor at such an early hour, was definitely not the way he wanted to wake up today. He had always complained as a kid about being an only child, desperately wanting a sibling, but who needed a brother when he had Brock?

"Misty's already up." he replied. "She's really gonna do it."

Ash was still in a heap, his head against the fldoor and his legs curled. "Pika..." the electric rodent mumbled, eventually sitting up and rubbing the back of his head with his paw. "Pikapi?"

The trainer forced himself to sit up. "She is," he answered. "It feels like such a long time since we all said what we wanted to be, but look at us now. You're a doctor, Misty's about to become a member of the Elite Four and Pikachu and I are still travelling the world." While he was still half-asleep, it didn't stop him from expressing the pride he felt. All three of them had been ambitious as kids, and they had achieved so much in their pokemon careers.

Brock was now sitting properly as well now. "I'm proud of us all."

Said woman had just finished lathering her hair with a finishing layer of conditioner, now standing under the water as it cascaded down her locks to rid it off the soap. She couldn't hear what her friends were saying about her, but she was pretty much thinking the exact same thing. The water was soothing against her body, momentarily distracting her from what was going to happen today. Her pokemon had voiced their excitement, Brock was adamant about how she was more than ready for this, and even Ash had expressed that he was proud of her vocally.

The steam from all of the hot water was now fogging up the en suite, but Misty didn't seem to notice as she absently focused on the intricate designs of the tiles. The thoughts had been plaguing her for days, the doubts. She couldn't help it.

She jumped at the sound of a rapid tapping sound against the door. "Misty?" Brock called. "You've been in there for fifteen minutes. You done? You're gonna use all the hot water and you know what that means. Are we in for a cold shower?"

"Hot water doesn't run out that fast!"

"With how you take showers, yes it does!" This was Ash's voice now, muffled by the closed wood. "The bathroom is probably flooded!"

She closed her eyes in annoyance, an irritated sound escaping her lips. "Well, with how important today is to me, I'm entitled to a great shower and extra bathroom time!"

* * *

It was more than half-an-hour later before Misty had finally emerged from the bathroom, her hair still up in a towel. But she was now fully dressed, a pair of tight denim shorts being covered by a yellow, fashionably arranged sarong with a pokeball design on it, a tight navy blue shirt and what looked like to be the strings of a red bikini beneath it that wrapped around her neck like a halter top. On her exposed thigh, the side that wasn't being covered by the sarong, was a bag strapped around her flesh. Instead of a normal belt, it seemed Misty had opted for that to keep her pokeballs in.

While she seemed to have gained some fashion insight from her sisters, her tomboyish nature wasn't all gone. On her feet were still a pair of high-top red sneakers.

"Is that a Cascade Badge around your neck, Mist?" Ash couldn't help but ask as Brock took his turn to disappear inside the bathroom. While he had noticed her change in outfit, and the fact that she was definitely more grown up in more ways than one, he hadn't noticed the short string around her neck that connected the water droplet.

"Oh, yeah," she said. She was now standing over where her bag was, her free hand lifting the piece, though her thumb covered the centre. "Daisy gave it to me as a good luck charm. Weird, I know, huh? Apparently it was my dad's."

The subject of the Waterflower parents had been a subject that was _strictly_ off limits unless Misty was in the mood to talk about it. Which was extremely rare. In all the years that Ash had known her, the number of times they had been mentioned he could count on both hands. All of their parents had messed up their lives. Brock's father had abandoned his family in favour of going on a pokemon journey while his mother left to pursue some odd goals until they had finally both been convinced to come back to take care of their family, Ash's dad was long-gone on his own pokemon journey and Misty's father had died while his daughters were young. Being the Gym Leader of Cerulean City at the time, he had left the gym to his daughters.

Misty's mother was another story; the truth about their oceanographer of a mother abandoning them just after her husband had died out of grief had been told in strict confidence to the two boys by Daisy. It actually explained why Misty only ever talked about her dad when they spoke of parents and was so attached to Ash's own mother.

He coughed at her words, trying not to make it a big deal. "Mist, if I had known..."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. It's like my sisters and him are gonna be with me today. Gotta give it my all, right? So, why not have something to show where I came from?" she answered with a smile.

When had Misty become so mature?

Ash was still in his pyjamas while he waited for his friends to finish in the bathroom, and so was still lounging around on his bed.

"You're gonna win."

Finally pulling the towel off her head, her hair tumbled down her back. She had let it grow out the older she got and it now sat at her mid-back. She looked so distinctively like her three older sisters now. Ash couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. He had Brock had been talking about their progress earlier, but he was still sitting there in his pyjamas and a massive bed head.

"We've all trained so hard for this... It feels so weird to say that we're both so close to our dreams. It's almost like yesterday that we were fighting over who was going to keep Togepi or getting lost trying to find the next town."

As she mused, she pulled on a navy fingerless glove that covered her right forearm and a sleuth of black bracelets on her left wrist. He couldn't help but notice, his eyes once again going to the Cascade Badge around her neck. Now that he looked at it properly and Misty wasn't covering it with her thumb, he could see where her Key Stone. The last time he had seen her, it had been hanging off an elastic band that she'd used to tie up her hair.

"There's proof of us going so far, though. The stone on your necklace is." Ash said. He readjusted his hat so that he could focus on it properly. "And us just growing up in general is another result. Who knew you'd grow your hair out and look less scrawny?"

"Who knew that you would go back to school?" the redhead replied without missing a beat. It wasn't out of spite; the two of them were sharing grins and a small chuckle.

"Well, yeah, that's true! But we're on a break right now so it was perfect timing!"

* * *

To be standing in a room such as this, the freezing cold nipping at her skin enough to cause goosebumps to rise where her skin was showing, across from Lorelai in all her glory was really something Misty thought would never happen.

Ash and Brock had been leading the way and had even pushed the double doors open for her, the ponytail that she had done up after her hair dried immediately and the strands that framed her face immediately lifting from the impact of the cold wind. She could see the breath falling from the lips of her companions, but soon enough her lips were being trained on Lorelei herself.

The woman was standing, waiting patiently on her own platform. She had clearly aged since Misty had first met her idol during her travels in the Orange Islands with Ash and Tracey. Her dark red hair had been streaked with a few grey strands, though she was still extremely tough. Her stance proved her to be very ready for the battle.

"Misty, welcome." Lorelei greeted, nodding respectfully.

The Gym Leader smiled nervously. "Thank you, Lorelei. Let's have a great battle!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

This exchange had Misty gaining a little confidence; if the ice-type trainer wanted this to be a great battle, then why shouldn't the Gym Leader?

The younger trainer began to make her way up to her side, Ash and Brock following behind her. They knew their friend was antsy, both in nerves and excitement, and so were both glad to be there to support her.

Similarly to her opponent's side, the challenger's side was fitted with another platform. Considering this was Lorelei's personal room, unlike the usual stadium that held the Indigo League conference, the set-up of the interior was customised to her taste. The four tall columns that were holding up the ceiling were surrounded by ice. Snow drifted around the room and Lorelei, who was dressed very lightly, didn't seemed bothered by the cold. Assuming that the two of them would just watch from the platform where Misty would be, all three visitors were surprised by the sudden shaking of the room.

Pikachu couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the loud rumbling, shrinking a little bit behind Ash's head but was still very much curious about what was happening. Suddenly, doors slid open for the ground in between the pillars on either side and compacted bleachers began to fold out and set themselves up properly.

All three visiting trainers gasped in awe through the process. "Whoa! How cool is that?" Ash said, stepping towards the bleachers already. Above them was a viewing area but the glass was keeping the people in the main room from seeing who was inside. Across from the bleachers was a large screen that was currently switched off.

Brock paused for a moment, placing a reassuring hand on Misty's shoulder with a smile. She grinned back at him gratefully, the both of them nodding at each other in a silent agreement.

After taking a deep sigh and finally turning to face Lorelei, the two locked eyes and began a stare down. Misty was more than ready for this. The reputation that she had built for herself and her family's gym preceded her. After all that time she spent honing her own skills and helping up-and-coming trainer become stronger, it was time. She had immensely improved, and the rank of her as a Gym Leader had continued to grow and grow.

To match the gym's new rank, under Misty's care, she had completely revamped it. Instead of the entertainment aquatic centre it had previously been, with bright colours everywhere and a giant dewgong on the top of the room to match Daisy's dewgong, it was now a sleek glass pyramid with an incredibly high ceiling, an adaptable battlefield and an even bigger aquarium that it had had prior.

That was an indication. Her skills as a pokemon trainer were an indication.

She was ready for this. It was time.

The screen suddenly lit up with two photos; one of Misty and one of Lorelei. Below their ID photos was their names and four slots where pictures of their pokemon were bound to be. A a man who had previously been unnoticed to Misty stepped up to the field, being the referee. He had two flags in his pockets, clearly for signalling.

A loud siren sounded itself for a moment, letting the two trainers know that the redhead's fate was going to be decided.

"This will be a four-on-four battle between Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four and Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader! This is an official match with no time limit and no substitutions allowed! Let the battle begin!"

"Dewgong, it's time to battle! Let's go!" Lorelei called, throwing the pokeball up the air. The capsule opened up, a bright light popping out to form the shape of the Water and Ice type. It called out its name and landed heavily on the ice field, clapping its flippers together.

"Alright! Politoed, I choose you!"

As soon as the bright light faded to reveal the very cheerful pokemon, it immediately began to leap from one foot to the other, clapping its hands and repeating its name. Since Politoed had evolved, its confidence had increased so much that it was almost like it didn't have a care in the world at times. But Politoed was one of Misty's oldest pokemon and a trusted companion.

"Dewgong, use Hail!"

The sea lion pokemon responded quickly to the command, arching its body as it called on the move. The wind began to pick up and grow harsher, the snow that was already blowing freezing into ice cubes. A cloud formed above the battlefield and soon enough, even bigger ice cubes were dropping from it. Both Misty and Politoed raised their arms to try and block the hail from harming them, the redhead eventually opening an eye to look to where the field was. Lorelei wasn't playing around. She was going to make Misty work to win the match, and she was already off to a good start by setting up like that.

"Use Double Slap to knock them away, Politoed!" she countered, watching as the water-type did exactly that. The move would stay in affect for a little while, so Misty would have to be creative about countering and somehow having Politoed attack Dewgong. "Bubble Beam!"

A jet of bubbles was then aimed right towards Dewgong. It managed to hit the sea lion right in the belly, pushing it back a couple of metres, but it really didn't have that much effect. Dewgong winced slightly in pain, but was more than capable of going on with the battle.

"Ice Beam!"

"Dodge it!"

Very narrowly, Politoed leaped sideways as to avoid getting hit by the strong attack. "Now use Rain Dance!" Going back to clapping and dancing about, a dark cloud soon overcast the battlefield from Politoed conjuring it. The hail was still falling at this point, being accompanied by the water droplets.

"Planning to power up, are we?" Lorelei asked, looking up at the cloud. Her eyes were glinting a little bit. "Don't give them the chance! Double Team!"

A series of dewgong quickly circled around Politoed who had now stopped in the middle of its little dance, glancing around as it attempted locate its real opponent. Misty gritted her teeth slightly, ignoring the rain that had begun to pelt down onto them harder. The strategy was a simple one, but if well implemented, it was effective.

"Don't worry, Politoed! Use Bubble Beam to find the real one!"

"Lorelei's really good... It looks like it's going to be a really long battle." Ash mused from his perch, eyes glued to the battlefield as he watched Politoed spin around in a circle with a well-aimed Bubble Beam. Dewgong had soon been hit with the attack, the Double Team illusion fading instantly at that. "Good job! Don't you think so, Brock?"

The breeder seemed to be immersed in the battle as well, but for a completely different reason. "Lorelei, my love, don't let this setback freeze you! Otherwise I'll use my body heat to thaw you out!"

"We're supposed to be here for Misty, not Lorelei..." Ash said, nudging his very enamoured friend in the side. Is this what all of his friends had to go through every time he battled an older female trainer?

By the time Brock had settled down and the two of them had refocused on the battle, Lorelei had ordered her dewgong to use Take Down. Dewgong began to quickly slide across the ice covering the battlefield. Its smooth belly and thick skin allowed it to glide across the ground with ease. Politoed was pretty much stuck in one spot; the hail had started to slow down, but the rain across the ground wasn't helping to slow its opponent down at all. It was almost skating around Politoed.

"Jump up!"

"Do it now, Dewgong!"

As Misty's pokemon leaped up, Dewgong seemed to shoot across the field and hit its opponent square in its stomach. Politoed was then flying back through the stadium.

"Politoed!" Misty called out. It was falling quickly. _'Think, Misty, think!'_ Would Politoed be able to do what she'd had planned while it was in the air like this? "Use the force from being pushed back and use Earthquake!"

Lorelei's eyes widened. Politoed had been wincing in pain but upon hearing its trainers voice, it seemed to remember what today was. Calling out its name to answer, Politoed's expression was now showing how determined it was. Forcing itself upright almost right before it hit the ground, Politoed slammed its feet upon hitting the surface so that it began to shake.

Dewgong allowed a pained groan to be released as the attack hit, Politoed as well still in pain from the Take Down attack. But Dewgong had also been hit with recoil damage. The two pokemon looked about as tired as each other at this point, but the battle had only just started. The aftershocks were still in affect from the Earthquake attack.

"Bubble Beam again!"

While Dewgong was still recovering from the aftershocks, Politoed took the opportunity to send a barrage of bubbles towards the other water-type. The hail had slowed down significantly as well, allowing the two pokemon on the field a little more ease to move around as well.

Lorelei was watching the battle like a fearow, trying to find any opportunity to counter attack. Politoed finally stopped, needing to catch its breath. That was when Lorelei pounced.

"Dewgong, use Rest!"

"What?!"

Misty cursed under her breath. Dewgong closed its eyes and remained still, slowly regurgitating the energy that it had lost. The only upside to this was that it would be asleep for a few turns now. But otherwise, everything that Misty and Politoed had achieved up until now in the battle had been all for naught and there was no denying that her pokemon was exhausted but Dewgong would be back to full health in no time.

Politoed was staring down its opponent, no longer dancing cheerfully. They needed to act quickly before Dewgong woke up again and Lorelei could order it to attack.

"Politoed, Double Slap!"

It immediately jumped forward to be right in front of Dewgong, and a slew of flying hands went against Dewgong. Since it was asleep, it couldn't react until it would awaken normally. Politoed jumped back just in case, following up with another Bubble Beam at its trainer's command.

The dewgong was taking the attacks rather well. It was definitely well-trained, but that didn't mean that Misty hadn't worked very hard to train hers to a very high standard as well.

In fact, she was one of the best Gym Leaders in Kanto.

While Politoed slowed up on its barrage of attacks, Dewgong had finally started to awaken. It blinked a couple of times tiredly, not exactly reacting.

"Earthquake before it gets ready to attack again, Politoed!"

"Ice Beam!"

As the force of Politoed's jump landed on the field to shake things up, Dewgong managed to fire the Ice-type attack, though its accuracy was distorted from the Earthquake. Even so, Politoed still managed to be hit, one of its feet beginning to be encased in ice that was connected to the ground.

Beginning to panic when it realised this, Politoed struggled to pull its foot of the ice but to no avail. It was trying to move around but was completely stuck, completely vulnerable. It was waving its arms back and forth but to no avail.

Misty gritted her teeth. While they were both lucky that the Ice Beam hadn't hit dead-on, Politoed was now at a disadvantage because it couldn't move and Dewgong could easily slide across the ice.

It was Lorelei's terrain, and Misty was struggling to gain her footing.

"Good one, Lorelei!" she said, offering her grin as she rattled her brain for something to do. Physical attacks wouldn't work. "Even with Earthquake in affect, Dewgong managed to pin Politoed down. Nice work!"

"Right back at you, Misty! From what I've seen so far, you've trained your pokemon well!"

To hear that made the Gym Leader's heart swell with pride. "Well, you've seen nothing yet. Politoed, Bubble Beam!"

Ash and Brock turned to look at each other during this exchange. Misty had looked to be freaking out only a second ago because Politoed was trapped and could no longer move about freely but now was battling confidently like she normally would. It was like a switch had gone off inside her brain. Maybe hearing words of encouragement from her idol was exactly the boost she needed.

The Bubble Beam attack shot right out and hit Dewgong in the belly once more, Politoed panting heavily as it tried to push through. Dewgong slid back once more from the Water-type attack, being startled by the force behind it. But it wasn't going down that easily.

"Ice Beam, Dewgong!" Lorelei yelled out.

Soon enough, the two were exchanging blows, with Dewgong not even bothering to dodge as both sides were relentless. It would occasionally move out of the way so the Politoed's attack would hit it only slightly but even with the HP it had recovered from using Rest, it had barely done anything to help.

With one last Ice Beam coming from Dewgong's side, Politoed was hit square in the face. It was pushed off-balance, the ice that had been frozen around its leg finally breaking as it went flying back from its opponent's move.

It soon skidded to a halt in front of Misty, the trainer yelling out its name in concern.

"Politoed!"

The Water-type allowed a strained "Poli..." to escape from its mouth, completely blacked out after finally giving in. Misty hurried forward, kneeling decide her poor teammate and ignoring the cold as it snipped at the bare skin of her knees.

"Oh, Mew, Politoed... You battled amazingly." she mused, gently manoeuvring Politoed so that its head was resting in her lap. It groaned its name sadly again, staring up at its trainer. "You were fantastic! You really did your best. And you know how strong Lorelei is." She offered Politoed a smile, completely genuine in her words.

"Poli politoed..."

"Don't worry. We'll win this for sure."

Pulling out a pokeball from the strapped bag on her leg, she raised it just above her pokemon's head. "Thanks, Politoed. Return and get some rest."

As soon as it disappeared in a red beam of light, the redhead made her way back to her trainer's box. It wasn't easy seeing that; her pokemon were all confident in their skills and were all strong and capable battlers so it really bruised their ego when they lost. So for Politoed, she'd be sure to win this.

"Whoa, I can't believe she lost..." Ash said, staring in disbelief at the battlefield. Both he and Brock had their eyes glued to the battle, the exchange being very intense. While all of them battled, it wasn't often that they really got to see Misty fired up like this since she was usually battling against egotistical trainers who were overconfident. Ash was the main battler in their little group, and with Brock's interest in breeding and being a doctor, he didn't battle as much anymore.

Pikachu's ears dropped, lowering the fans it was holding that he had been using to cheer Misty on. "Pikachupi..."

"Don't worry, you guys. You know how strong she is. She'll make a comeback. Plus, look at Dewgong. It won't last much longer with how much damage it took from Politoed." Brock replied, pressing a comforting hand to Pikachu's head and looking over at this friend. "She's doing pretty good. Don't lose faith in her just yet. She's worked hard for this."

"You're right..."

The electric rodent, who was sitting in between the two males, immediately perked up. He once again began waving the fans around while chanting Misty's name. "Pikachupi! Pikachupi!"

"Your Politoed put up a great fight, Misty. It's very strong." Lorelei said, keeping her eyes trained on the young woman. Dewgong nodded in agreement, though it was struggling to keep itself upright. "It really fought valiantly. It's not often that I come close to losing like that. I haven't been this excited over a battle in a long time." Her eyes were fiery behind her glasses as she spoke.

"Me neither. But don't start thinking that you're going to win, Lorelei. There's still a long way to go!" Misty replied, a large grin gracing her lips as she pulled out her next pokeball.

She tossed it up in the air. It was her partner's turn.

"Misty calls Starmie!"

* * *

 **A/N: This was incredibly long, wow... Sorry about the battle. I'm trying my best but I either tend to go overboard or not add enough in. It's never in between with me. Oh, well... Despite how much I'm kind of on the fence with this chapter, I'm quite proud of myself, honestly?**

 **Anyway, please consider leaving a review! They're much appreciated!**

 **To those who've been reading, reviewing and favouriting, thank you so much!**

 **To NeoXen7; Ash is currently still attending school in the Alola region, but this takes place a few months after the episodes where Brock and Misty are featured. When I initially came up with the idea, I hadn't expected for them to make an appearance, so... Now I'm trying to work it into the timeline. Ash would probably be nearing the end of his time in Alola and is currently on holiday (like term break?).**

 **Word Count: 4,904**


	3. Part 3

**Within Reach**

 _ **Part 3**_

 **by usebubblebeam**

 **A/N: I honestly didn't expect for me to take so long with this update. I'd actually begun writing it the day I posted Part 2, but life kind of got in the way and I was sort of struggling to write the rest of the chapters. I don't really enjoy writing battle scenes (I know, really ironic that I chose to write a story about exactly _that_** **) but once I get the ball rolling, then I'm generally fine. But I managed to pump it out, so I hope you enjoy it!  
**

 **Just in advance, sorry about any grammatical errors. I just kind of scanned over it because I want to get it out ASAP.**

* * *

As soon as Starmie materialised from the pokeball, Misty instantly felt a surge of determination flow through her.

With how long Starmie and she had been together, since right before her tenth birthday when she had found it as an injured staryu and choosing to nurse it back to health with the help of the Cerulean City Nurse Joy, to now, standing in front of Lorelei with a chance of a lifetime within their grasp, the two were stronger than ever.

it looked back at its trainer for a moment before looking back towards Lorelei and Dewgong. The unspoken communication between them was enough.

"Misty's Starmie? Whoa, it's been a long time since we've seen it..."

"She usually leaves it at the gym but there's no doubting how strong her Starmie is." Brock said, folding his arms across his chest as he looked forward. "This is gonna be a really tough match. With Misty specialising in Water types and Lorelei in Ice types, neither are super effective against the other. So it's just a matter of who has the skill."

"Pikachupi! Pika pipikachu!"

"Still, it's a good match-up." Ash observed, elbows on his knees as he rested his chin in his hands. Misty was radiating confidence and her stance was like Ash when he got pumped up for a League battle. But there was something else that he couldn't put his finger on... While he had seen Misty battle before, in fact, countless times, and only a few months ago had he beaten her monster of a Gyarados with Pikachu at his side, this was different. His eyes stayed focused on her for probably a minute too long, Brock having to nudge him back into reality.

"Now who's the one who's not here for Misty?" he teased. "Nah, you're just here to stare."

His mouth fell open in disbelief as he stared at his other best friend as though he had grown a second head.

"Eh?!"

Lorelei raised her eyebrows. "A Starmie?"

"My partner!"

The Elite Four member hummed in reply as the two women waited for the referee to give them the go-ahead.

He once more stepped up with both flags raised in the air. "Gym Leader Misty has chosen her starmie while Elite Four Member Lorelei is staying with her dewgong! Let the battle recommence!"

"Psychic!"

Before Lorelei even had a chance to open her mouth, Dewgong had already been surrounded by a blue aura. Starmie's spikes seemed to move slightly as the Water/Ice type was lifted in the air. It seemed to be frozen in shock, but Misty wasn't. She was more than ready to make this even ground once more. Stretching her arm out, she once again spoke. "Go!"

And with that, Dewgong was propelled towards Lorelei, the older woman's eyes widening as she watched her pokemon quite literally be thrown across the room with probably one of strongest Psychic type attacks. Not to mention, a Starmie pulling off that kind of power wasn't something seen often. It wasn't known to be exceptional so seeing this was certainly a treat.

Lorelei's hair lifted from the wind that had generated from Dewgong flying past her, the pokemon being slammed against the wall of the stadium they were in.

The referee bolted over to where it was, with its trainer blinking in shock over what had just happened. While Dewgong had been tired, there was literally no time for them to react.

The referee snapped Lorelei out her shock by raising the green flag in the direction of Misty and Starmie. "Dewgong is unable to battle! Starmie is the winner!"

Pikachu's voice echoed throughout the stadium at the announcement by the referee. The redhead couldn't help but smile at the sound, but the rest of the patrons in the room turned to look at Pikachu in shock, save for Lorelei who merely smiled. Dewgong's photo faded from the screen, and its trainer reached out its pokeball to return it.

"Dewgong, you battled stunningly. Well done." she said to the capsule, her smile gentle as she praised her pokemon. She put the pokeball on the belt that was wrapped around her waist. "Your starmie is strong. But I'm not one to lose."

"Neither am I!"

"Well, since you're using your partner, why don't I use mine?"

The redhead's oceanic eyes widened.

Ash looked over at Brock at the question. "Lorelei's partner?"

The breeder's eyes were once more fixated on the older woman, looking completely lovestruck. "Her Lapras! Oh, it's as beautiful as she is!" he answered, raising his hands together. He seemed to be about to jump off the bleachers and run straight to her with open arms, causing Ash to jump up and wrap his arms around his friend's shoulders in an attempt to restrain him.

"Brock, chill out!"

Neither of the woman had noticed this; they were completely focused on each other while blocking the rest of the world out.

This was too important to be distracted.

Misty had regained her composure, shoulders back. A lapras against a starmie? Starmie was indeed strong, but this was _Lorelei's_ pokemon. The woman had a reputation that was preceded her and had launched her into the spotlight. The fact was that Lorelei was an incredible trainer and there was no wonder that Misty looked up to her. Since she specialised in Ice-type pokemon but there weren't that many that could be found in the Kanto region, a lot of her team consisted of dual Water/Ice types.

It was no reason that Misty was fluctuating between feeling confident and freaking out a little bit, like Brock had explained to Ash. Her two best friends could see her mind overthinking as she tried to think of a way to somehow outsmart Lorelei and they couldn't fault her. Lorelei was intimidating.

She stood silently for a moment as said trainer threw up her own pokeball, the light materialising to reveal the transport pokemon. Lapras reeled its head back slightly and its call echoed through the room. With another pokemon that could travel easily across the ice, Misty really had her work cut out for her. But it wasn't in her nature to back down from a challenge, as both a Gym Leader and because of her pride.

"Starmie, let's do this."

The referee once again lifted his two flags once more. "The next round will be between Lorelei's Lapras and Misty's Starmie! Let the battle re-commence!"

At this, the two women immediately jumped into action.

"Lapras, Ice Beam!" Lorelei yelled out. The large creature immediately obeyed her command, pressing its fins into the frozen battlefield as it shot the stream of extreme cold towards Starmie. Starmie reacted almost instantaneously, using its quick reflexes to spin out of the way.

"That's the way, Starmie! Use Rapid Spin to move! Don't let it catch you!"

The Water/Psychic pokemon sprang into action, using the momentum it had previously gained from dodging Lapras' Ice Beam attack to move across the field. For being such a heavyweight pokemon, Lapras had definitely been trained in a way to overcome the flaw, much like Lorelei's dewgong, but was more superiorly trained, by the looks of it. Most likely because it had been with Lorelei longer. Its aging features features displayed years of experience, much like the case with Tracey's scyther, but this was different.

"Ice Beam again!" Lorelei shouted, Lapras sliding straight down the field as to catch its opponent at the corner. Not even milliseconds after Starmie had reached the corner, Lapras had shot the attack, grazing the tips of Starmie's spikes. No reaction indicated that it had been hurt otherwise, and it was lucky to have avoided it.

The same couldn't be said for the wall, though. Ash and Brock wore expressions of disbelief. The ice was still spreading across the walls and Lapras had stopped the Ice Beam when it realised that Starmie was no longer in its range. The bystanders were both shivering, but the fact that they were cold was taking a backseat in their minds as they were so engrossed in the battle. It wasn't often that they got to see their friend battle much anymore (save for Brock seeing how hard the redhead trained over the weeks since Lance had first told her hat was going on in her kitchen). It was amazing to see how strong she had become.

Starmie once again manoeuvred itself to perform an extremely sharp turn, aiming for Lapras and tackling straight into the pokemon's belly. While the attack wasn't strong enough to make it faint, Lapras was forced back at the impact of the hit. Starmie had landed in front of Misty after this, its trainer praising it from her box.

"Great job!"

Lapras raised its head, having bowed in pain. Its face displayed irritation. Lorelei was still standing her ground, seemingly unfazed by it.

"Are you alright, Lapras?" she called.

The pokemon let a cry out in return to indicate that it was fine.

"Fantastic!" she answered with a grin before extending her arm. "Use Blizzard!"

As the command dropped from Lorelei's lips, Lapras prepared itself to use the extremely strong attack by reeling its head back. It shot forward, the barrage of cold shooting towards Starmie.

"Psychic to lift yourself up!"

The star-shaped pokemon did exactly as it was told, a layer of blue glowing around its body as it levitated from the ground and up into the air, easily dodging the Blizzard.

"Switch to Ice Beam and keep attacking until you hit it!"

Suddenly the air was once more being filled with streams of intense cold, Starmie barely dodging any of them. It was a little slow when it used Psychic on itself in order to do this sort of thing, a fairly new tactic that Misty and it had been working on. It wasn't experienced enough to have mastered the skill, but it knew how to do it enough to get by in a battle. And this was the perfect time to be using it.

She clenched her fists in vexation as she tried to find some sort of opening. There was no real way to use the attacks that Starmie had in its arsenal effectively in this situation. Psychic was rendered useless when Starmie was using it on itself, Rapid Spin would do little damage and would most likely end up once again as a dodging tactic, and her secret strategy couldn't be used like this because it needed to be set up. But there was one...

Misty's mind flashed momentarily to a battle of Ash's that she had once witnessed; being between him and that infuriating Fire type trainer from Johto, Macy. During the round between Macy's electabuzz and Ash's squirtle, Squirtle had easily shot a Water Gun mid air and aimed it almost directly where its initial Water Gun had hit.

An idea popped into her head from this.

"Starmie, Hydro Pump! Aim for where you hit Lapras with the Rapid Spin from before!"

It stopped using Psychic, effectively dropping itself mid-air as it launched the strong attack on command and doing exactly as its trainer said. The strong jet of water immediately hit almost directly where Lapras had previously been impacted by Starmie's Rapid Spin, the pokemon cringing in pain and letting out a strained sound.

Ash's mouth fell open at what just happened. "That was my move!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the battlefield and looking towards Brock. "She's using my move!"

The man had his arms folded, continuing to keep his eyes on the exchange in front of them. "Well, what do you expect? All of us have adapted your battling style in one way or another. It's only natural that Misty would too." he replied, momentarily glancing at Ash with a small smirk.

"Lapras, I know you can do this!" Lorelei said, raising her fists as she watched her partner trying to shake off its pain. One of the reasons why Misty idolised Lorelei so much was that she truly loved her pokemon. They all had a connection and when Misty had watched the televised match of Lorelei battling against Lance for the Champion position prior to her actually becoming her trainer, she knew that she wanted that sort of connection too. So seeing all of this today, not just the fact that she was battling for her dream here, was overwhelming.

Lapras seemed slightly groggy, but managed to raise its head full height once more in order to stare down Starmie.

"Well done, Lapras! Now, it's time to even the field a little more. Use Surf!"

The frozen field began to crack slightly underneath where Lapras was. It slid forward slightly, and Misty could see that the ice had broken away in a large circular shape to reveal a pool of water beneath it. Moments passed, and the tension was really rising in the air. It was so quiet that a pin would probably be heard if dropped. She held her breath as she waited. She couldn't have Starmie react until she figured out exactly what Lapras was going to do.

Suddenly, a massive geyser of water erupted from the hole and lifted Lapras off the ground. When it reached full height, Lapras stared down from its perch rather comfortably. The injuries it had sustained were still visible but now that it was like the water was helping soothe its injuries... Was its ability Water Absorb?

"Go!"

Leaning forward, it rode the water as it dissipated into a wave, remaining high off the ground. Was it going to throw the water down on top of Starmie? With this thought process, Misty jumped into action.

"Starmie, up!"

It immediately followed the order, spinning high as to avoid the water but Lorelei smirked. That meant she wanted Misty to do that. She had just made a grave error.

"As I hoped you would do!" the Ice type trainer said smugly. "Now use Body Slam, Lapras!"

Misty's oceanic eyes widened. It was a combination attack? She couldn't do anything at this point; whatever tactic she called out for Starmie to use, it didn't have the time nor the room to apply yet. Lapras was way too close.

Somehow, it leaped off the wave and its shadow loomed right over the top of its opponent.

A heavy crashing sound echoed through the stadium and smoke rolled off the edges of Lapras' body once it had crushed Starmie beneath it. It let out a victorious sound from its mouth, then slowly moving off Starmie.

Upon seeing her partner, Misty grit her teeth. It was clear that her pokemon had really been hurt by the Body Slam, but its jewel was flashing just yet. It was covered in scratches, probably from the ice, and was it was already forming bruises along its purple body. It laid still for a few seconds, the referee getting ready to lift up his flag to declare Lapras the winner, but Starmie shifted in order to prove that it was feeling fine.

"Are you sure, Starmie?" she asked. It took a moment for her pokemon to move in a standing position properly, but it wasn't giving up the fight yet.

"For your pokemon to get up after that is amazing, Misty. Not only is Starmie super strong, but it seems like it really wants to win this for you." Lorelei mused thoughtfully. Starmie finally managed to stand up properly, though its movements were strained. It probably would last much longer in battle, so she'd need to finish this one quick.

She nodded in agreement. "I couldn't have said it better myself. We've been together a long time. I want to win this battle just as bad, not only for myself but all of my pokemon."

"Alright... Now its time for _that._ "

Misty was grinning proudly now.

"Spin, Starmie!"

Something that had played on Misty's mind for years was the question of how Rudy, the Trovita Island Gym Leader, had trained his starmie to use Thunderbolt. She understood that the dancing that he implemented into his training regimen helped with the friction but being a Water type, not only could his pokemon use the attack with ease, but it wasn't affected by the Electric type move. So, when he had been travelling through Kanto with his younger sister, Mahri, on some business and the two of them had stopped by the Cerulean City Gym a few years ago, the redhead had asked him to show her. And the extra training had payed off.

Misty's starmie began twirling, gaining speed rather quickly. Unlike when it was using Rapid Spin, it was spinning on one of its spikes instead of acting as a sort of frisbee. Staryu, one of Misty's other pokemon, often used Rapid Spin this way, but that was because of its speed and Misty had trained the two differently despite being of the same evolution line.

"Now, Starmie! Thunderbolt!"

Ash and Brock let out surprised gasps, with the two of them raised off their seats as sparks started to leave Starmie's body. The jolts of electricity began to shoot in almost every different, though a rather jolt was directed straight towards Lapras.

Bright yellow was being reflected from Lapras' eyes. It was too tired to even attempt to slide away on the ice like it had when it had been brought out to battle by its trainer. Lorelei's eyes were wide too.

It seemed to slam Lapras as the light enveloped it, another pained sound leaving Lapras as it was shocked by the thunderbolt. It was trembling through the electric currents, unable to escape from it. Smoke from the attack was rising around it as well.

It slowed down after a few moments along with Starmie who was also coming to a stop. The pokemon looked absolutely exhausted, its spikes drooping but nonetheless somehow remained upright as they all waited for the smoke to blow away to reveal Lapras' reaction.

As it did, little flashes of yellow could still be seen from the Water/Ice type as it stared at Starmie, one of its eyes scrunched as it tried to remain strong but it was visibly hurt. While it looked like the water from before had helped heal it a little bit, the Thunderbolt had really dropped its health.

Misty couldn't help but hold onto her breath. It was like a battle of willpower now as the two pokemon dared each other to faint with a determined glare from each side. Starmie no longer had the strength to keep its spikes struck out like normal while Lapras was still trembling in pain.

Ever seen one of those movies where the whole theatre suddenly goes silent, with a heartbeat sound effect pulsing through the speakers? With the volume right down in the scene so that you could only watch the reactions of the people on the screen and then the volume would suddenly go right back up with a scream of a character's name?

This was kind of like that. Except Misty could hear her own heartbeat echoing in her ears and she couldn't breathe.

Two loud thumps snapped her out of that trance. Flashing red and a large blue lump were now in the middle of the field. Her eyes were wide, realising that the flashing red and the blue large was Starmie and Lapras.

Had she just come to a draw with Lorelei?

"Both of the pokemon are down! This round is void!"

At this, both trainers ran out to where their pokemon lay. Lorelei kneeled beside Lapras, murmuring comforting words as she pet its head. Misty crouched too beside her pokemon, bringing her pokemon into her lap and smiling down towards it.

"You were amazing, Starmie. You battled so hard." she said. "I'm so proud of you." She held it to her for a minute longer before reaching for Starmie's pokeball and returning it. "We'll win this for both you and Politoed. I promise."

The two women slowly made their way back to their stations, Lorelei having returned Lapras as well.

"You weren't kidding when you said you weren't here to lose." she said, holding one of the arms of her glasses as she spoke to her opponent. She truly was impressed. There was such a stark difference to the way Misty used to be when Lorelei had first met her to how she was now. She had truly blossomed into a strong trainer.

"Heh, thanks!" she replied, smiling bashfully. "Neither were you! But it's not over yet! I still need to beat you, and I'm not going to break the promise I made with my pokemon."

The Ice type trainer nodded. "I understand. Shall we continue?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, now..." She reached for another pokeball, Misty doing the same. "Cloyster, its your turn now!"

A light let the pokeball after she'd thrown it to reveal yet another Water/Ice type. Lorelei had a wide array of Ice types, but it looked like she had carefully chosen her team for today's battle based on her opponent's specialty, hence the duel typing. But that didn't mean that Misty was prepared for her.

The redhead smiled. "Think you can throw me off? But I don't think so. Corsola, I choose you!"

The pink coral pokemon materialised from the Great Ball that Misty had thrown in the direction of the battlefield, excitedly bouncing up and down. Corsola was another one of Misty's team members that had been with her for a long time, but that was part of the reason why they worked so well together. They had grown over the years as the team of trainer and pokemon and as friends. She had the utmost amount of trust in her little battler.

"A Rock type?"

"Your pokemon may have been Water types so far, but don't underestimate my little corsola. She's really tough."

Not to mention Corsola's secondary typing gave her both an advantage and a disadvantage to Cloyster. While Corsola was a little weaker to Water type attacks than other Water type pokemon, its Rock typing gave it advantage over Cloyster's Ice classification.

"Hm, Corsola against Cloyster..." Brock muttered, his hand rising to his chin thoughtfully. The balance was well thought-out. While Lorelei had thought ahead in terms of the battle, knowing that Misty's pokemon were mostly Water types, Misty had countered this thought process by bringing in her Rock type. "Looks like its going to be a tough battle."

"But Misty can win this." Ash replied confidently.

"Why do you sound so sure?" Brock was in no way doubting their best friend, but he was aware of the fact that there was a possibility that she would lose. And the fact that he couldn't help but be curious about how Ash would answer his question. Pikachu was looking between both of its friend, ears perked up questioningly as well.

"I just know it." he said, looking at the man beside him. Instead of a cheerful smile, he wore an expression resolve. His eyes were dancing like they did when he was battling himself; he was really pumped up.

Brock raised his brows, relaxing as he processed his friend's answer. "I think so too. It's not going to be easy, though. They've both lost two pokemon each. Its like their back to the beginning all over again. And we don't know what pokemon either of them have left that will be used in the last round. So it could technically go either way right now... But Misty has trained so hard for this and she's so hellbent on winning this battle. You haven't seen how hard she's worked over the past few weeks. She won't go down that easily."

Ash nodded his head, turning to look back at the redhead they were discussing. Things really had changed... It didn't seem like that long ago when he and his friends had visited Kanto for a couple of days so that the Alolan students could experience a gym battle but when he looked back now, it was like another lifetime ago. Brock was about to enter his last year of studying as a pokemon doctor and Misty was going to be promoted. They weren't the three goofy kids trying to make their way through weird adventures anymore.

He leaned his elbows on his knees so that he could rest his chin on his hands, his gaze remaining on his friend. He had been doing it a lot today, but he couldn't help it. He was just so transfixed by how she was behaving. No battle, from what he had seen, had Misty so _ready_ before, and the two of them had known each other since they were ten.

The referee raised his two flags.

"Gym Leader Misty has chosen her corsola while Elite Four Member Lorelei has chosen Cloyster! Let the battle re-commence!"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm quite proud of myself, actually. I put a lot of effort into these battle sequences, trying to both make them seem like they would be in later episodes of the anime (when it's not just a one-hit wonder) and so that the characters are shown to have improved. Misty isn't ten in this fic; she's 21 so she's bound to be a scary-good battler, right? Or at least a seasoned one. Plus, it was nice to give her Starmie the spotlight for a change. You don't really see her Starmie that much in fics and it doesn't have a big role in the anime.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the feedback I've been receiving so far! Your positive messages really mean a lot, and I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! And to the silent readers, thank you to you guys as well!**

 **Please consider leaving a review regarding this chapter. :)**

 **Word Count: 4,257**


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